Failure Of The Fittest - FAS Chevrolet Matiz V8

The Matiz is not a very widely appreciated car. Originally sold as a Daewoo, it was instantly dismissed by many petrolheads and fate had it sink into the murky depths of modern econoboxes. In the mid-noughties, GM selling it as a Chevrolet did nothing to help its cause. The real stand-out Matiz came in the shape of a Chevy-badged example modified by European company ‘Fourdin Auto Sport,’ who, sure as anything, packed the dinky Matiz with quite a punch.

The car, in case you were having difficulty seeing, is far from stock. Track was widened rather a lot for (required) stability, a chunky set of rubber stretched around new rims and some decidedly awesome aerodynamic bits and pieces bolted on (just look at that wing…) to add to the already racecar-like feel. The rear door was gone, too. As you can see in the above picture, it was simply welded in with the rest of the bodywork. Waste not, want not.

Underneath, the whole thing is a mish-mash blend of high end Chevys. The front frame is knicked from a Camaro, opening the door to the car’s namesake and party piece- a 550HP Corvette-descended 7.0 V8. All the engine you could ever need in a Matiz. The rest of the running gear bits and pieces were grabbed from a C6 Corvette, so are far from the worst you could get. They’re plenty capable of transferring the sheer power of the car into movement, too, as 60MPH comes up in 3.7 seconds after burying your right foot.

According to those who have driven the car, though, the end result is not great. A host of untuned pieces from two models bolted to one isn’t the best recipe for a refined track car, and in this case no exception is made. There’s too much power for too little metal, and a slight blip of throttle at just the wrong moment can end in a catastrophic downpour of tears. Whilst it could potentially be a serious track weapon, it would first need strict taming, and that could prove difficult. Not a car for the fainthearted.

So; lesson learned is that too much power can be had, and in this case, very much is. The FAS Matiz is best thought of as a long lost, methamphetamine -addicted relative of the Clio V6 or elusive Twingo Trophy; crazy. Fast, fun, but crazy, and seriously dangerous in the wrong hands. It sounds though, at the end of the day, like an absolute blast, and isn’t that an important attribute in a car? Don’t people tend to say that if their car makes them happy and they enjoy the experience of owning and driving it, that’s all that they’d ever ask for? Important? I’d say so.

#blogpost